Ceres High varsity girls soccer head coach Miguel Saldate believes his team deserved a higher seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III playoff tournament.

The 12th-seeded Bulldogs will hit the road today to face fifth-seeded Ponderosa at 5 p.m. in Shingle Springs.

Ceres High (11-2-4, 7-1-2) placed second in the WAC standings.

The Bruins (11-4-4, 8-3-3) finished third in the Capital Valley Conference.

"I'm disappointed," Saldate said. "I'm trying to figure out why they seeded us that low. But it's not just this season. It's every season. We got first place in league in the past and had to travel."

The Bulldogs collected 11 wins, just two losses and four ties during the regular season.

Ceres High dealt first-place Central Valley its lone loss in WAC play.

The Bulldogs avenged a 1-0 setback with a 1-0 victory.

Rio Americano, Sierra, Central Valley and Woodland were awarded the top four seeds in the Division-III bracket.

The Bulldogs were seeded nine spots lower than the Hawks. "It's motivation," Saldate said. "I'm hoping we can show we're better than our seeding. It doesn't matter who we're playing. We're still going to have to play hard."

Saldate talked about the possibility of facing crosstown-rival Central Valley in the section championship game.

"It would be nice to see both teams from Ceres make it to the finals," Saldate said. "It would be great if we won."

Ceres High will be seeking to earn its playoff victory under Saldate's guidance.

The Bulldogs lost in the first round the previous three seasons.

"We do have a good team," Saldate said. "I hope we do better."